I discovered Manga Classics with their adaptation of The Scarlet Letter and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I love so many classics, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of them. Set in Puritan times in the Colonial America, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest after she gives birth to an illegitimate child. Hawthorne’s novel is a real insight into how dark, depressing, judgmental, and ugly humans can be, but also strong and empowering. It’s a beautiful novel, and this adaptation in manga form is really cool!

Adapted by Crystal S. Chan with artwork by SunNeko Lee, this version of The Scarlet Letter follows traditional manga format, and is all in black and white apart from Hester’s scarlet letter which is in red. The adaptation is faithful to the original, the artwork is beautiful, and it was a pleasure to read the story. I think it would be a great idea for kids to read this type of adaptation side by side with the original work as it’s a great way to look at the classic in a different light. I’m going to have to check out some more of these now… Austen and Dickens anyone??

Check out Manga Classics extensive collection right here.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy!

This book is a great option for those that are interested in classics but with a new format and twist. I was not a huge fan of the Scarlet Letter growing up; however, I found that this new and improved format is a better way to understand and appreciate a classic. It reminded me of the artistic style of manga which I am a huge fan of. If you are looking for a new and interesting way to read a classic then I would highly recommend this book.

It was enjoyable but seemed to play up the "pretty" side of the story more than retelling the story itself.

I was auto-approved by the publisher Udon Entertainment through NetGalley to review this title.
Truth be told, I was never able to get into the story <i>The Scarlet Letter</i>; I started the book about 10 years ago, but quickly lost interest. I even tried watching a movie version, but again lost interest.
Having said that, I did make it through this version of the story and I even enjoyed it. The art work was great. The story itself will never be one that I favour, but at least this time I was able to get a good overview of the classic story.
Overall, this was my second manga comic in the Manga Classic series and I’m looking forward reading other installments in this series. I would recommend it to anyone, who enjoys comics and retellings of classics.

Once again, Manga Classics does not disappoint with their adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter. In Puritan New England, Hester Prynne has been charged with the crime of adultery after giving birth to an illegitimate daughter. Her entire town has shunned her, and forced her to wear a large scarlet letter "A" for "adulteress." In spite of being publically humiliated by her community, Hester refuses to denounce the father of her child.
When I first read the novel, The Scarlet Letter, I felt most sympathetic for Hester out of all the characters in the novel. Somehow, after reading the manga, my view of Arthur Dimmesdale has changed. Hester is portrayed as a strong woman who tries to become a respectable member of her community in spite of being shunned and rejected at every turn. Eventually, she even thrives on her service to others as her penitence. Arthur Dimmesdale, in contrast, knows no peace and lives in the fear of being exposed for his crimes. Even though he is a valued member of his community as a religious leader, he cannot see a positive outcome for his future. In the manga, you can feel Arthur's melancholy and torment in the way he is drawn.
The Scarlet Letter converts very well into a manga format for its heavy reliance on symbolism. The manga presents these symbols visually, and the effects are stunning. The illustrations really provided great depth into the psyche of each character. For instance, I found it fascinating how Roger Chillingworth slowly began to look more serpentine as the manga progressed.
I would recommend Manga Classics' The Scarlet Letter to those who have and haven't read the original novel. As with all Manga Classics, the manga version is a compliment, or a nod to the original. The faithfulness to the original novel is always executed perfectly with an attention to detail I would not have believed possible in a manga.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was adapted into a manga by SunNeko Lee, Crystal S Chan and Stacy King. I had read the novel in high school so to refresh my memory I read the manga. I enjoyed the illustrations and the format of the story because it gives new readers a good basic of the story itself. The characters of Hester, her child Pearl, the good reverend and her old husband comes to life and I understood the story more than I could in high school. It tells the story of a woman who had an affair from when her husband was away and how she had to wear a letter A for adultery and how her life was like afterwards. The manga makes the children understand the story easier and would want to get into the classics when they are older. I recommend it for any library.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's tragic saga of Puritan America, "The Scarlet Letter" has always been intriguing tale in which for some people the book is outright boring and for others is a masterpiece. While the Magna edition faithfully adapted the story, the illustrations (though very beautiful) made most of the characters look very young.

In saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it!


An eARC of this comic was provided by Udon Entertainment via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the opportunity to read and review Manga Classics! Manga Classics include Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, which is true to the original classic with added cliffhangers to keep manga readers interested and eye-catching illustrations. After the story ends, the details of adaptation from classic literature to manga lets us see into the transformation. Each story in this collection follows these same guidelines! Impressive artwork and transformation!
Manga Classics also include The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (the only color is the scarlet letter A, which makes striking illustrations!), Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven. The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red death and The Fall of the House of Usher; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and many more!
5 stars for books that make classics accessible and understandable to every reader!

It is The Scarlet Letter in Manga style comic book. It takes the story and places fantastic illustrations to convey the message. It's great for kids who prefer mangas over novels a way to get their feet wet with the stories and get more involved.

This comic book was interesting. It did not make me like Scarlet Lwtter anymore than when I first read it in high school, Interesting concept.

Classics are always one of those things that most people WANT to read or SAY they will read but most of us never get around to it. Most classics are massive and tedious or they have complex writing that deters readers. But if you really want to get the overall concept of a classic without having to read the entire book then these mangas are the perfect thing for you.

This specific classic is The Scarlet Letter. If you commit certain sins you are mad to wear an embroidered letter on your clothing so everyone knows of your transgression. A is for adultery. This story was crazy but I really enjoyed it and I know I never would have enjoyed the story this much had I just read the actual book. These mangas truly are amazing for people like me.

I went into this graphic novel without having read The Scarlet Letter
The story begins with a mob of Puritans discussing Hester Prynne’s crime of adultery with a mysterious man who has left her with a baby, Pearl, and that’s the basis of the entire plot. Due to her crimes she is forced to wear the letter "A" for adultery engraved in her clothes (red, hence scarlet) as a reminder.

Slightly rushed in my opinion: many time skips to my liking and the personality traits weren't fully explained or developed. I do understand that as it is a manga version, these kind of things would happen, but it felt like it was completely erased.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. Very fast paced and easy to read. Though I recommend more Manga Classics: Great Expectations check out my review here

Manga Classics have done it again. Another title to add to the manga collection for fans.

Thank you for this book! This is such an easy way for me to get more difficult texts into the hands of my lower readers ESPECIALLY because it utilizes the same language as the original However, the PDF file was corrupt and I couldn't read it so I can't exactly review it. I gave it 5 stars, though, because I've read similar books like this one and they're always great.

The Scarlet Letter was beautiful and the illustrations add to the story wonderfully. I mentioned it to some of our customers and we already have a waiting list. Parents are very excited about a new way to capture the attention of young readers in classic novels.

It's been awhile since I've read the original Scarlet Letter, but this graphic novel brought so much of it back. And it even helped me to understand the story better.

The illustrations are beautiful. I especially liked those of Pearl and Hester. I especially liked the black and white with the scarlet letter being the only colour throughout. What a stark contrast. Beautifully done.

*Note: I received a copy of this title from the people at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Manga classics has such wonderful classic adaptations. I would recommend anyone getting the novels for anyone interested in reading about classic stories in a fun and easy way.
The Scarlet Letter was no different.. The graphics were wonderful and the plot was very nicely brought out. The story was really great.

Book Review
Title: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Crystal S. Chan (Story Adaptation), SunNeko Lee (Illustrator), W.T. Francis (Lettering), Nathaniel Hawthorne (Original Story)
Genre: Classic/Manga adaptation
Rating: ****
Review: After reading the manga adaptation of Jane Eyre I couldn’t wait to jump into the Scarlet Letter, yet another classic I have heard nothing about (what a sheltered reading life I’ve had!) So, after being auto-approved for all Udon Entertainments books I could wait to start a Scarlet Letter. The story opens in 19th century Salem in the USA, where Nathaniel is clearing out some outdated paperwork finds a mysterious letter. We then jump back 2 centuries and move location to Boston where Hester Prynne is being persecuted for having an affair and having the child of her lover which is against everything that Puritans stand for. As the people of Boston are strong of faith they imprison Hester and her 3-month-old daughter Pearl for her crime and she is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet A upon her breast. We learn that Hester was married off to a man much older than herself who showed her no love or affection and after she was sent to Boston alone for several years she took comfort in another although she refuses to speak the name of the man who fathered her child and is soon returned to her cell.
However, Pearl soon falls ill, and a Doctor Roger Chillingworth arrives, this man is Hester’s husband and while he doesn’t wish to harm Hester or Pearl he desires to know the name of Pearl’s father, so he may take his revenge, yet Hester remains mute. One thing that struck me was Hester could have left and started a new life, but she chooses to stay in a place where she is condemned at every turn, but she does manage to make a living selling her beautiful needlework to those in the town although she is exempt from making bridalwear as it is considered to sacred for a sinner to make. Several years pass and Pearl is becoming quite the beautiful child but Hester fears that her sin has tainted her daughter and no matter what Hester preaches Pearl doesn’t believe in God and appears slightly demonic to others. As rumours of the Pearl’s blasphemy spreads around the town the Governors blame Hester and begins planning to take Pearl from her and give her to a better guardian, so Hester naturally goes to plead her case only to find her husband among the guardians.
As we approach the hallway mark in the manga, we see the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale constantly pleads Hester’s case and is pivotal in Hester being allowed to keep her child and it almost seems as if that the Reverend, a man of God, is the father of the child of sin. Doctor Chillingworth also suspects the Reverend of defiling his wife and befriends the man to learn his secrets under the guise of healing his ailment but Mr. Dimmesdale much like Hester refuses to speak of the sin that is causing him physical pain, but it is so clear what the sin is every time he lays eyes upon Hester and Pearl although others remain blind to this the good doctor does not. It is confirmed when the guilt of what he had done becomes too much for the Reverend and he must confess his sins although he is too much of a coward to do it while alive but along the way he comes across Hester and Pearl and for the first time he acknowledges them as his own, however, this takes place in the dead of night with only the three of them present although another watched from the shadows.
It is unclear whether Doctor Chillingworth saw the whole exchange or just the end of it but it seems to confirm his suspicions but the Reverend has suspicions of his own and Pearl whispers to him who the Doctor is but he doesn’t believe her and still returns home with the man hell bent on vengeance. As the years pass two things remain constant, Doctor Chillingworth torments the Reverend with the unspoken knowledge of his sin and Pearl continually asks Hester about the meaning of the scarlet letter and both remain mute until Hester can stand it no longer. Hester speaks with her husband and reminds him that she kept her promise in not revealing his identity and asks him to release the Reverend, but the Doctor feels that the man who wronged him hasn’t suffered enough and will continue to hurt him until either the truth is revealed, or the man died while Hester knows he is doing more wrong to her and by extension her child than she ever did to him. Pearl is also a most unusual character as she speaks and acts much older than she is at only seven years old.
As we approach the final section of the manga, we can feel a tension building in the background as Hester must find a way to free the Reverend from the fiend Doctor hiding in plain sight. After the Reverend returns from his travels Hester and he talk as they used to and she tells him of the evil eye watching him and they, referring to him, herself and Pearl must escape it across the ocean to which he readily agrees but something strange happens. When Hester removes her scarlet letter Pearl personality changes until she places it once more upon her breast and she doesn’t really take to the Reverend as she did previously and on top of this the child seems very intelligent, cunning and manipulative.
In the final section of the manga, Hester, Pearl and Arthur prepare to leave their sins behind and start a new life elsewhere. However, the doctor soon learns of their plan and prepares to travel on the same boat but on the day of their supposed departure Arthur gives his final sermon and then prepares to confess his sins. All the while the Roger Chillingworth tries to prevent him from speaking the truth, but he does confessing that he slept with Hester and Pearl is his daughter and seven years ago they both should have been branded with the scarlet letter A. He dies shortly after his confession and making things right with the woman he loved, and his daughter and Doctor Chillingworth follows less than a year later leaving everything he owned to Little Pearl. The most mysterious thing is that after that Hester and Pearl disappeared and everything heard about them after Arthur’s death is rumour.
In the end we return to the 19th century where Nathaniel decides to write Hester’s story and share it with the world, which was a very inspired touch. Overall, I really like the mystery and suspense in the scarlet letter but it wasn’t as gripping as I was expecting, the story is good but most of the book isn’t that exciting except for the Doctor’s arrival and Pearl strange behaviour.

Yet another amazing manga adaption! This story is so sad but brings up great points. It really makes you think and visually, this manga is stunning!